According to this World Bank report, remittances comprised 11.3% of Armenia’s GDP in 2016. It is also interesting to look at how Armenia is doing in comparison with other Post Soviet and Eastern European states.
According to the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), remittances totaled $1.53 billion in 2016. Armenia’s entire Gross Domestic Product is equivalent to less than $11 billion.
2017 isn’t over yet, but this year is set to outperform the previous one in the amount of remittances. According to the CBA, they totaled $313 million, up from $273 million in January-March 2017. Cash transfers from Armenian migrant workers in Russia accounted for just over half of the overall remittance inflows and soared by more than 20 percent in the first quarter.
Artur Papyan
Journalist, blogger, digital security and media consultant